Adding some zing to every day & loving our life right now

Tag Archives: shopping

I’m encouraged and inspired lately to keep going, to push harder & burn the midnight oil to keep up with projects (such as this blog & some DIY) after hours, but I tell ya.. after 12 hour days, lately I have just not had the oomph for it.

So let’s catch up via Instagram lately.

We celebrated the 4th with fireworks & festive doughnuts. Yeah buddy.We have some duck friends who come visit us. Usually there are 2 that visit in a pair, but lately it’s just one at a time. We feed the ducks and about 8 turtles that live in the pond too pretty regularly.Here’s my baby girl. When I say baby, I mean she acts like she’s a baby.. but technically she’s middle-aged in dog years. She’s so photogenic.DRESSES!! Ross has expanded their dress section and I was able to scoop up 3 lovelies without breaking my budget this past weekend. Josh didn’t really understand why I had to buy 3, but then again his wardrobe consists of about 1/3 of mine so.. yeah.Shadows at the beach. This is probably my most favorite photo in a long time. I tweaked it using a couple of programs & am probably going to print/upsize it to display in the house very soon.

Little details make the every day special. Follow me on Instagram to see more of our little details & moments.

Like this:

For all Dandelion Days followers, I am featuring a special 14% off coupon for your next Mary Kay cosmetics order as my way of saying thank you for supporting my blog. I’ve got some great Valentine’s Day ideas if you’re looking for something special for your sweetheart (or daughter, or sister perhaps) that’s different than the usual chocolate box, starting at $12 & all ideas are customizable depending on what you may be looking for.

You can view the catalog here and send questions/orders to llinster@marykay.com. Be sure to mention code VD14LL in your message.

I mentioned a few days ago that October is my favorite month, partly because it’s my birthday month! This year my birthday fell on a pretty awesome date – I turned 25 on 10/11/12. 🙂 I’m always excited about birthdays, even if it does mean getting older. Not gonna lie.. this one freaked me out a TINY bit, maybe because everyone I know was going on about this “quarter of a century” nonsense talk. Pish posh. That may be true, but I just really feel a sense of urgency in getting going, in taking life up a notch. Here’s a little peek into what my 25th birthday was all about:

The day started with a deep tissue massage at Massage Heights. I broke down a few months ago and joined the club and pay what is basically the “new member price” on the condition that I commit to 12 massages, or basically a year membership. You can certainly use all of your massages in one month.. but they bill you every month until your year commitment is over – so I go once a month for a little time in heaven. 🙂 I decided to run into Ulta, which is right next door. I have this terrible habit of taking care of everything else and not taking care of the things I personally need until I absolutely HAVE to. I’m using an eyeliner pencil that’s about an 2 inches tall right now. So, that being the case, I had seen an ad in the paper for Ulta eyeliner, 3 for $9. It’s my birthday after all, so I decided I could treat myself. I also had a 20% coupon in my hand and I figured 20% off $9 bucks wasn’t going to do much for me. So I perused the store and found myself on an aisle with exfoliating things. I ended up staring down a row on sugar scrubs and chose the coconut lime scented/flavored one because while I am super psyched that fall is right around the corner.. (or I hope atleast, she keeps walking in and then running away) I love the beach and scents of summer too. SO, best of both worlds – this is what I walked out with.

Best sugar scrub EVER

I had to turn the water off and scrub down, but man oh man. I felt like I was at the beach and after I rinsed off, my skin was softer than any baby I’ve ever held. I have since replaced my body soap and loofah ( and my loofah is one of those exfoliating ones with the beads.. but just doesn’t compare). This is the STUFF!

So after the best shower of my life, I got ready and went with my sister down to St. Augustine to hit the outlets. I spent alot of time in my closet this week getting rid of things that were old, things I don’t like to wear [but technically CAN wear], things that weren’t age appropriate (I’m 5’6 and all legs – and the shorts that fit me.. barely cover my booty].

It was a lovely, fall day – perfect temperature, nice breeze, leisurely and unrushed. Wardrobe rebuilding shopping was followed by dinner and happy hour at Chili’s – where every hour is happy hour!

Here is a peek at my birthday celebrations in photos:

A FUN birthday gift from my sister

So, while getting older usually means getting more “boring” type presents.. my sister felt the need [as she does every year] to ignore my birthday list and supply a FUN present. I almost bought her the exact same thing this year, funnily enough. I’m super psyched to tap into more of my creative side again and go take this baby for a spin! I’m a photography minor and used to spend all of my free time shooting for class projects and these past few years have fallen out of the habit. While everyone has chores and never ending laundry to do, it’s important to seek out the beauty in your life.

So I’ll do just that. This birthday inspired me to take it up a notch, to get my life organized and to be more involved. It was a good one, here’s to a great year of being 25.